Shri Varahi Devi

One text of the Prapanchasara Tantra says that the Parabindu divides into two parts, of
which the right is Bindu, the male, Purusha or Ham, and the left Visarga the female, Prakriti or
Sah, making the combined Hamsah. Hamsah is the union of Prakriti and Purusha and the
universe is Hamsah - The Garland of Letters, Sir John Woodroffe

Varahi is a bali (animal sacrifice) devata, one of Lalita's receivers of offerings. Her four alchemical elements (dhatus) are known as the four fires. Kurukulla's
alchemical elements are known as the five Shaktis. The combination of these
five Shaktis (downward pointing triangles) and four fires (upward pointing
triangles), forms the complex figure in the centre of the Shri Cakra. Varahi's
four are the twelve (three x four) sun kalas, twelve sidereal constellations.
Kurukulla's five triangles are the fifteen (five x three) Kalas of the moon,
fifteen lunar days. The complete individual grows within nine months to be born
as a Shri Yantra or plant. The flowering of this plant is shown by the 24
petals of the yantra.

Both Varahi and Kurukulla are connected with, but separate from the sixteen Nityas (fifteen days of the bright
fortnight plus Lalita herself).

The following chapter of the Tantrarajatantra, translated into English for the first time,
is devoted to the practice of the Varahi mantra and contains a number of prayogas. As with all other prayogas, a sadhaka is only qualified
(adhikari) to perform these rites if (a) she or he is initiated, and (b) does the daily puja of Tripurasundari. Further,
the commentary (not translated here) shows that there is a number of elements which have to be taken
account of when performing prayogas. These include visualisation skills and also a knowledge of astrology (Hindu, sidereal version),
before the rites will be successful.

The Tantrarajatantra says that Varahi is the "father form", while Kurukulla is the "mother form" of the devata.

Tantrarajatantra Chapter XXIII

Now in the Sixteen Nitya (Tantra) the rules, the worship and the limbs relating to the Angabhuta known as Panchami are spoken of. I speak of puja of the siddha mantra, worship through ritual and meditation, and sacrifice and yantras, giving all the siddhi that is desired.

After doing limb nyasa using seven, two sets of six, ten, seven and seven parts of the mantras, a person should worship according to rule in a chakra consisting of triangle, circle, hexagon, invoking her with Hrim.

One should worship using the 110 letters of the Varahi vidya in the centre (of the yantra), and should then worship the attendants in the left, right and centre triangles who are Krodhini, Stambhini and Chanda-Ucchanda, placing Hrim in front of their respective names and Namah behind.

In the six angles starting from the east and going anticlockwise one should worship Brahmi and so forth. Then in the circles one should worship Mahalakshmi Panchami. After giving animal sacrifice using the sixteenth syllable, and after one has worshipped all with ritual accessories, one should recite the vidya 1000 or 100 times. Daily, one should do sacrifice using pure and good sesamum, rice or ghee, then the vidya becomes successful.

A sage of controlled senses, able to perform sacrifice, should do puja at the twilights. He should recite the vidya 100,000 times -- giving oblation of one tenth part of that. After doing the worship and invocation, the mantra becomes successful -- if one is compassionate, devoted to Guru, contented, patient and of peaceful mind.

If one should perform a rite for a specific application devotedly, it gives whatever is desired immediately, giving the favour and grace of Devi to the tireless practitioner.

One should meditate on Devi as having the body of a girl from the throat down, resembling the colour of molten gold, her large, fiery and tawny haired head being that of a sow.

She has three eyes and seven arms which hold a discus, a conch, a hook, a lotus, a noose, and a club. She shows the (mudras) dispelling fear and granting boons. One should think of her as being comfortably seated on the shoulders of Garuda. In daily worship one should meditate on her and her Shaktis in this way.

In particular applications, one should recall Devi and her Shaktis as being seated on lions, tigers, elephants, horses or Garudas. According to that which one wishes to achieve in specific meditations, one should think of her as having a dark green, red, yellow, black or purple body.

In rituals for subjugation, one should think of Panchami, and recite (her mantra) as red, surrounded by hosts of beautiful red Shaktis. In worship for paralysing, one should meditate on her as yellow, wearing yellow garments, garlanded with yellow flowers, wearing yellow jewels, and smeared with yellow unguent, surrounded by yellow Shaktis.

In a difficult pass one should think of her as being seated on a great bodied lion which is of a dark green colour, surrounded by Shaktis similar to herself, offering recitation of the Vidya to the central Shakti. If the mantrin should meditate on these as his own self, he attains an exalted and wealthy status.

If one should remember Devi, with her Shaktis, on lions, Garudas, elephants, Sharabhas, horned creatures, dogs, boars, buffaloes and serpents with terrific teeth and cruel and crooked claws, whether assailed by thieves, unexpected attacks, by anxieties about being injured, by pisachas, by bhutas, by pretas, away from one's family, or in a defile in the wilderness, or on lonely roads, or in a forest, or on a mountain peak, then in this way one becomes free from anxiety and happy.

Whether in wars, in fearful situations, in falls (from status), or attacked by chariots and swords, or in difficult passes, having remembered her one becomes supremely victorious.

If one should meditate, in states of terrible war, on Devi as blue, with a terrible appearance, seated on an elephant, holding a nail, a knife, a sword, an arrow, a club, a sickle, and a discus in her right hands: and with her left making the threatening gesture, and holding shield, skin, bow, damaru, plough, noose and conch: surrounded by Shaktis like her; the Shaktis seated on elephants, assaulting all the missiles of the enemy, and attacking them with maces, all moving about, like red banners, then (the enemy) flees, pursued by swarms of blue Shaktis howling terribly, berserk.

One should meditate on Devi in the form previously described during great wars, as being in the centre of the sun's orb, her body marked with red tridents. If one should then recite the vidya with concentrated mind, after invoking her into water via breath during rituals for a period of seven days, one's enemy will die from fever.

If one should think of Devi, surrounded by her attendants, and recite her vidya, for three days, in water, as breaking in pieces the body of one's enemy, which is then consumed by fierce jackals and corpse eaters and flesh eating dogs, then, after remembering her, one gains deliverance.

If one should think of Devi as of an effulgent purple colour, and do recitation (visualising her) cleaving the target's tongue, heart and feet, one slays enemies.

If, after remembering Devi as of a yellow colour, one should worship according to the rule, the enemy experiences harm, anxiety in speech, becomes disputatious, and is conquered in battle.

After thinking of this Devi as seated on Garuda, and surrounded by numbers of Shaktis seated on Garudas, and the skies being thick with an array of hosts of unseated Garudas, then one becomes victorious over an army of enemies at a distance, instantly putting them to flight. With her eight arms holding axes, and being surrounded by a circle of Shaktis, one may destroy the army of enemies in a battle immediately.

If a person should meditate on Varahi as having dishevelled hair, as being seated on a throne in a jewelled pavilion, each of her hairs swarms of Shaktis holding clusters of red arrows, and each of which sits on hyenas, lions, tigers and monkeys and bears and Garudas and horses, each holding tridents as previously declared, the hostile host is destroyed by one's own ruler.

Parameshvari, if a sadhaka should worship the yellow effulgent one, the paralyser, with yellow flowers, using the previously declared tongue method, for a number of days, the array of the enemies in battle and whatever else one desires are paralysed instantly.

If one should worship the red Devi at midnight, using red flowers, one may enslave or kill all enemies, this is certain.

If one should do puja for the number of days previously spoken of, using black flowers according to rule, at the time of one's enemy's death, in a visha nadi, a tortured yoga, or in a death or destruction yoga, then Yama lords it over the enemies.

If one should worship using dark green flowers, and various sorts of scents, it is said one becomes very wealthy, free of disease, true minded, a lord. One lives happily on earth for 100 years, it is said.

One should do sacrifice at night in a rectangular fire pit, using turmeric mixed with food, sesame, beans, rice, yellow flowers, yellow fruit, palmyra leaves, together with the letters of the target's name, using ghee. Then one may paralyse, as previously stated.

At midnight, the enemy may be felled if one sacrifices in fire in a yoni shaped pit, offering meat in a devoted way, and sacrificing for the number of days previously stated. One may kill the enemy by disease, sword, dart, serpent, water, flame, elephant, madness, enemies, whirlwind, the fall of a tree or wall, consumed by enemies. The enemies are unable to withstand this prayoga.

Meditating on her as being purple, and seated on a bird, having the nail and the rest of the weapons, during (the rising of) Virgo or Scorpio, offering goat flesh and much ghee, the rays of light from the sacrifice slay the person, who is consumed by hot raging fever.

If one should meditate on her as being effulgent as the dawn sun, offering (in sacrifice) various red substances, ghee, blossoms of the Kimshuka, Bandhuka, Japa, Pala, Karavira, Kahlara, lotus, Patala, Ashoka and various other red blossoms, then one becomes equal to a king, very wealthy, having great power, wafted by fly whisks and shielded by parasols, of this there is no doubt.

If, at night, one should meditate on her as red, with her nail and other weapons, and sacrifice in the various cardinal points starting with the east for the number of days previously stated, then one may subjugate man, woman or the whole world. One becomes famous, and lives on earth for a long period like Laksmi.

One should draw a bhupura, inside of this placing the name of the target. On the outside one should write the earth letters. Making an eight petal lotus, one should write the six syllables of the mantra outside of the two circles.

Outside the hexagon one should write the earth letters, placing mantras inside the angles. As previously stated, one should write (letters) on the rim of the two circles, placing outside of the bhupura, in an anticlockwise direction, the letters of the matrika.

After doing this, one should then write in reverse the letters of the root vidya. If one should worship in this, one may paralyse the enemy and the world.

One should write the letters of the mantra six by six in a nine angled design surrounded by two circles, outside of this there being an octangle design surrounded by two circles, all surrounded by a bhupura. Within the octangles, and outside of the circles, and in the bhupura, one should write the matrikas both clockwise and anticlockwise. One should write the name (of the target) in all the directions, and should worship the eight armed form, Auspicious One. Parameshvari, employing the method previously stated, the target becomes paralysed.

One should draw three circles, outside them putting a hexagon surrounded by two circles. This is to be enclosed in an octangular design, surrounded by a circle. In order one should place the letters of Earth, one in each of the (six) angles, outside this writing them in three groups of three. In the centre one should also write the name (of the target). After reciting, the sadhaka should give animal sacrifice to obtain whatever is desired.

One should draw a triangle enclosed in a circle, outside of this drawing a hexagon, another hexagon, an octangular figure, and another hexagon. From the edges to the middle one should write the naksatra, tithi and day (of the target's birth), also writing all the matrika letters. In the centre of each of the seven mandalas, one should write the matrikas in clockwise order. One should place Hrim in the centre. If one should worship this one obtains all siddhi. One may command bhutas, pretas, pishachas and so forth, causing disease, attacks by elephants and other wild beasts, or pacifying them.

One should draw an octangular design, placing in each of the corners, sides and centre a trident shape. Outside this, write the letters of the mantra together with the matrikas, placing in the middle compartment the named one wishes to paralyse. One should draw it on birch bark, on cloth, on copper or on stone. One should always worship it using flowers, beautiful perfumes, then doing recitation of the mantra. Doing the ritual at the twilights, one may always obtain whatever is desired.

Draw a square, inside of this making sixteen lines, extending from the cardinal and intermediate points, which together makes a figure of 225 compartments. One should make a symmetrical figure of 28 compartments by rubbing out other of the angles made. In the central three compartments one should write the target and the name of the act the sadhaka wishes to accomplish. Starting from the east, one should write the letters of the mantra.

This great yantra is called the vajra, giving the totality of whatever is wished for by sadhakas. Wherever this is placed, whether written on copper, stone and so forth, there can never dwell thieves, bhutas, diseases, ailments, serpents, bad planets, pretas, pisacas and so forth. In whichever house this yantra is placed on the junction points of the homestead design (vastu), there can never exist black magic, ailments or disease.

From the north west, south east, south west and north east, draw 12 lines, making a vajra figure of 21 compartments. In the centre of these one should draw the name of whatever is to be accomplished, outside of this, in a clockwise direction, writing the letters of the alphabet. After worshipping this and drawing it, whether it be on copper, stone or whatever, disease, bhutas, planets, madness, pisacas and the kleshas of the mind can never enter or afflict one.

If one should draw the previously described vajra in a golden colour within the centre of a pot, filling it with milk, and if one should invoke Devi in this liquid, and worship her therein, oblating and offering flowers and reciting the vidya 3000 times, subsequently bathing oneself with the liquid, and drinking some of it, then one becomes free of bodily kleshas, and lives happily on earth.

After making a circle measuring four finger breadths, one should put outside of it, two measures by two measures, eleven compartments. From each of these two by two measures one should draw lines. After putting tridents in the compartments, one should surround the whole with the letters of the alphabet, and placing the named in the centre. After indrawing the Devi via breath into this yantra, and worshipping from the east clockwise, then reciting the vidya, one may achieve whatever is desired.

Notes

Varahi, also known as Panchami, or the Fivefold One, bears the relation of "father" to Lalita, although pictured as a Devi. The mother form is Kurukulla Tara. Varahi gives four fires and Kurukulla five Shaktis -- this forming the complex shape in the centre of Shri Yantra.

Varahi is fivefold as water, fire, earth, air and aether. These elements are related to lion, tiger, elephant, horse and Garuda -- the bird-human vehicle of Vishnu. Their colours are dark green, red, yellow, black and purple.